by
• Seattle Mariners vs. Texas Rangers
• Friday, Sept. 29 at 9:40 PM ET
• T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Washington
We are entering the final stretch of the Major League Baseball regular season and there’s plenty of drama across the board. In the American League, people are fighting for the last Wild Card spot, while the AL West champions will be decided in the coming days as well. Over in Seattle, there’s a huge series on the way and the Rangers are favored to beat the Mariners in a massive Friday night battle. Who will come out on top?
These two teams met last weekend, with Texas recording an impressive series sweep over the Mariners. This now has Texas in the driver’s seat to win the division, while the Mariners are fighting for their postseason lives. On Monday night, the Mariners hosted the Astros for the first game of a huge series, with Houston coming out on top. This has only reduced Seattle’s chances of getting a Wild Card position.
| Mariners vs. Rangers odds |  |  |  |  |
| Rangers to win | -115 | -115 | -115 | -115 |
| Mariners to win | +125 | +125 | +125 | +125 |
| Over to hit | -110 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Under to hit | -110 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
The same can’t be said for the Rangers, as they’re the odds-on favorites to win the AL West. Texas has been one of the biggest surprises in the bigs this season, as no one expected them to be in this kind of a position. The Rangers have been in a bit of a rebuild in recent years, but they sure came on strong in 2023. Will it result in them adding a banner later this year? That’s what plenty of people are hoping for.
According to the best-rated sportsbooks, which includes the reliable Bovada review, the Rangers hold -115 MLB betting odds to take down the Mariners, while Seattle, the home team, holds +125 MLB betting odds. The pressure is on for the Mariners to post some clutch wins the rest of the week, but their fans aren’t feeling too optimistic right now. With that said, we’re going with the Rangers as our pick to win on Friday.
Back-to-back-to-back for the first time since 2015. #StraightUpTX pic.twitter.com/GQJNTgb54d
— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) September 26, 2023
The over should hit between the Mariners and Rangers
Both teams are yet to reveal who they’ll be sending out to start, but regardless of that, the over should hit between the Mariners and Rangers. With Seattle specifically, they have some incredible power in their lineup. While the offense has been in a bit of a rough stretch over the last 4-5 days, don’t let that fool you: this team has outstanding players and they’re going to hope to put up some runs on Friday night.
While we do think the Rangers will be the ones to come out on top with a close win, we also expect the Mariners to put up plenty of runs. Julio Rodriguez is the reigning AL Rookie of the Year and he has really caught fire during the second half of the season. It will be on him, Cal Raleigh, Eugenio Suarez and others to try and deliver for Seattle. Manager Scott Servais also wants to see his hitters wake up a bit.
All smiles for Northwest Green tonight 😃 pic.twitter.com/aR81wmhzCi
— T-Mobile Park (@TMobilePark) September 25, 2023
“We are home,” Servais said following the rough series vs. the Rangers last weekend. “This is what we signed up for, right? Big, meaningful games in September. So we’ve got them big, we’ve got them meaningful and our friends the Astros are in town. It should be a fun series. I’m sure both teams are disappointed with how their weekends went, but we are where we are. These games do mean a lot. I think both teams are ready to get after it.”
According to the oddsmakers, the over/under for this game has been set at 6.5 runs. Both the over and under hold -110 MLB betting odds. The Mariners are going to want to catch fire, but the Rangers are also going to want to make a strong statement for this road game. This could end up being a high-scoring affair between the two sides. Because of this, we’re going with the over as our pick.
Texas should have no problem winning the AL West
With only a handful of games left in the season, Texas should have no problems winning the AL West. As things stand, the Rangers hold an impressive -850 odds to win the division. Houston entered the year as the favorite to win the West, but it has been a bit of a down year for Dusty Baker and Co. Unless there’s a miracle on the way later this week, then Texas should be the champs. Again, this isn’t something a lot of people expected, but they’ve found ways to win close contests.
Come next month, the Rangers will focus on the ALDS. Who they’ll face to open the playoffs is up in the air, but you already know that this team will be ready to make a ton of noise. The Rangers have flown under the radar throughout the year and while they don’t hold World Series betting odds as strong as the Braves or Dodgers, they’re 100 percent going to be a team to watch from start to finish during the postseason. We can’t wait to find out what they can get done.
